The past and the furious
There used to be a popular bumper sticker that read, ‘Old Fords never die, they just get faster’. When it comes to old Formula Fords it might better read, ‘…they just keep racing’.
There’s been a place to race older FF1600s since the early 1980s, with the Pre-’74 Championship in the UK, and there have been many variations on this theme since. Now there’s Historic (pre-’72) and Classic (pre’82), and often a class system for different age groups within regional championships.
Historic FF1600 has been remarkably successful, boasting grids averaging 27 across 2021 and enjoying a profile that is, arguably, even higher than that of the National Championship for modern cars.
‘The rules are the same as modern Formula Ford,’ says Mike O’Brien, who runs the Classic Team Merlyn operation that is a front runner in the championship. ‘[But] there are a few differences in the cars, such as the spec of the dampers. You’re not allowed to use gas-filled dampers, they have to be twin-tube, oil-filled dampers, which has changed in the last few years. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It’s not supposed to be a category where you get development, you’re supposed to be racing the cars in their original spec.’
The tyres also differ, with Historics running on Avon ACB9s, similar to the old treaded Dunlops, rather than the cut slick-looking Avon ACB10 used on the more modern Formula Fords.
Cars eligible for the championship can be expensive, though, going for as much as £40,000 with engine and gearbox for a good one. But then they do hold their value, and the budget required to run them is reasonable, especially in the context of notoriously expensive historic motorsport.
‘In this you could run as an amateur for probably £10,000 a year,’ says O’Brien. ‘And our budget for our team is about £50,000, for all the races and testing.’